Reporters on the Job

from the November 10, 2008 edition

• I'm Not 007: While reporting the story about Latin American nations curbing cooperation with the US drug fight, staff writer Sara Miller Llana was reminded of a recent trip to Bolivia.

She went to interview farmers from the Chapare region, where coca is legally grown. Coca is the main ingredient in cocaine, but it also has a cultural use in the Andean region – people chew it and drink it in tea.

"But one of the farmer's relatives had been killed during recent political riots. My story was a political one, but it took me about two hours to convince them that I was a journalist and not a spy for the US government," says Sara.

– David Clark Scott

World editor

THIS WEEK'S LOOK AHEAD

• Monday, Nov. 10:

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Thai and Cambodian officials meet to discuss border demarcation.Caracas, Venezuela – Russia and Venezuela holding four days of joint naval exercises in the Caribbean Sea.

• Tuesday, Nov. 11:

London/Dubai, U.A.E. – Cunard's liner, the Queen Elizabeth II, will be retired, and become a floating hotel in Dubai.

• Wednesday, Nov. 12:

Geneva – The World Trade Organization (WTO) meets with a dozen financial institutions to discuss the credit crunch.

• Friday, Nov. 14:

Nice, France – European Union-Russia summit to be held amid lingering tensions over Georgia crisis.

• Saturday, Nov. 15:

Washington – President Bush convenes an international summit on the financial crisis.

– Associated Press, Reuters

Cultural snapshot

Remembrance Sunday: In London, a boy salutes at a ceremony honoring the sacrifices of armed forces since World War I. On Nov. 11, Britain marks the day with two minutes of silence. Toby Melville/Reuters More cultural snapshots

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